State television Iraqiya said most of the hostages seized at a Higher Education Ministry building today had been freed in operations by security forces in Baghdad. | Amid suspicions of police complicity, the interior minister hauled in police chiefs to explain how dozens of gunmen swept into the Higher Education Ministry annexe, rounded up those inside, and drove them off in broad daylight toward a Shi'ite militia stronghold. |
Iraqiya quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman for its information.
Earlier in the day, gunmen in Iraqi police uniforms snatched up to 100 staff and visitors from the ministry building, sparking a huge manhunt by the government. Amid suspicions of police complicity, the interior minister hauled in police chiefs to explain how dozens of gunmen swept into the Higher Education Ministry annexe, rounded up those inside, and drove them off in broad daylight toward a Shi'ite militia stronghold. Women were left behind after having their mobile phones stolen. One witness said police guards stood by as the gunmen separated minority Sunnis from Shi'ites by checking names on identity documents, although officials and other witnesses said it appeared men from both sects were taken away. |